A Vibrant Soul
by Sir Nut
Summary: In a world where twolegs don't exist and cats can develop unique powers, Rusty lives with his mother, sister, and best friend in a peaceful, nomadic lifestyle. However, when his life is suddenly struck with tragedy, he will stop at nothing to take revenge upon those who had done him wrong.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:**** Rated T for mild violence and strong language.**

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**Prologue**

A young black tom stared out into the white snowy landscape from within the confines of his dark shelter. He was curled up and lit a small fire from the palm of his paw close to his chest, keeping the vital warmth within his own body. His icy blue eyes flickered between the white tundra outside and the interwoven branches that caged him in. The walls of his confines were made of thick roots that overlapped each other, creating a small den. The entrance was secured with a single piece of milkweed that tied the branches together at a single point. The flame flickered in the tom's paw. Despite the tom possessing the power to destroy the cage, he did not take any action in doing so. He simply sat within the cage and waited quietly.

"It's time, Raventail."

As the black tom blinked momentarily, a large, dark-gray tabby tom had appeared and spoke to him. He had a large stature with a scar that stretched from his shoulder to the joint of his left leg, almost exactly the opposite of Raventail's small, unscathed build. He possessed dark amber eyes that bore into the very depths of Raventail's soul, as if reading his every movement. Despite his heavy build, Raventail hadn't even heard his footsteps in the deep snow or shown any kind of presence.

The dark-gray tabby unsheathed a claw and cut the milkweed lock, springing the twigs open. Raventail erased the small flame from his paw and stood up, feeling a slight chill from the draft that blew through his fur. He slowly padded towards the entrance, locking gazes with the gray tabby that had stood guard outside his shelter. Neither cat blinked, fixating only on each other's eyes as they passed each other. Raventail felt his heartbeat slowly rise from the tension, but eventually broke his stare and turned back in front of him.

As Raventail stepped into the snow, his vision adjusted to the outside. A large open clearing was covered with a blanket of snow, and colossal trees surrounded the area as if to create a natural barrier for the clearing. There were holes carved into the trees, with Raventail's own shelter built at one of the roots. Rows of cats were already waiting for him on the ground, their gazes stuck to every inch of his pelt. A few cats began to whisper to each other after seeing his appearance, but were quickly silenced by those around them. Raventail approached the center of the cats and sat down, unfazed by the eyes trained on him. He swept his eyes over the faces of the cats. A mixture of expressions were seen, with some cats holding looks of anger and rage while others were of sadness and disappointment. One cat in particular, a brown she-cat, was on the verge of tears as she watched the scene play in front of her.

The dark-gray tom had followed Raventail closely and stopped just behind him. Despite not being able to see him directly, his presence alone was enough to send Raventail's survival instincts on full alert. Raventail wasn't sure why, but he possessed an uncommon aura that shouted "danger" from him. Raventail daringly peered over his shoulder to steal a glance at the tabby, but only saw the gray tom sitting on his hind legs and peacefully licking his own paws. "_Tsh, playing me for a fool… acting as if this has nothing to do with him,"_ thought Raventail, digging his claws into the snow beneath him.

"Let all cats, old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the High Branch for a clan meeting!"

Raventail's train of thought was broken when a cat yowled for attention from the tip of a branch above him. All of the cats present turned to the new figure that had summoned them. A pure silver she-cat gracefully sat with her paws tucked beneath her tail, her dark blue eyes resembling that of a calm ocean. Her pelt, which was roughly cleaned from a recent grooming, bore several thin scratches in various places. Her outside appearance gave a tranquil atmosphere, but her dark blue eyes bore nothing but a raging tidal wave, ready to destroy anything that stood in its way. Raventail's claws unsheathed, curling deeper into the dirt below as his muscles contracted. His calm and refined nature wavered where he stood, barely able to contain the immeasurable rage that flooded out of him in waves. He narrowed his icy blue eyes and bore his gaze into the one that stood above him. However, the expression on the she-cat remained composed and monotone, despite the fury of the black tom being directed at her.

She breathed in the crisp air and spoke in a booming voice.

"Raventail, it is time to deliver your final decision. I gave you three days to decide whether to stay here and repent for your actions, or exile. Which will it be?"

"Do I really need to say it?" spat the black tom.

"Yes. What is your final answer?"

Raventail paused for a brief moment, then answered calmly.

"I choose exile."

"Raventail, wait! Think about this!" shouted the brown she-cat, her tears finally breaking out.

"You think I haven't thought about it? This is my final answer."

"Very well. I, Featherstar, hereby sentence you to exile. Should you be found by any of our warriors after sunrise tomorrow morning, they will have permission to execute you."

"Good luck," retaliated Raventail.

"Please wait, Featherstar! There must be another way!"

"Please, Brittlewhisker. The decision has already been made," replied Featherstar sternly to the brown she-cat.

A bright orange tom padded up to Brittlewhisker's side and placed his tail on her shoulder to comfort her.

"If this is what he wants, then we should let him take this path. It is not our place to judge how he should live his life," spoke the orange tom.

"But surely there is something we could do! Anything! He is our son, you know? How could you not be more worried about this?"

"Of course I'm worried! However, doing so will do no one any good. He has decided to take this path, so our only way to show our support for him is to let him go."

"Flametail is right, Brittlewhisker," voiced another cat in the clearing, trying to comfort her.

Raventail spat at the commotion in disgust. He watched the pitiable site in front of him before padding to the camp entrance. He brushed the glares off from his fellow clanmates casually, without any care in the world. When he finally reached the camp entrance made up of overarching branches in the shape of an arch, he stole one last look at the crowd behind him before disappearing into the white wilderness.

The landscape was a sheet of snow, littered with colossal trees that touched the heavens. The thick fog cut Raventail's visibility to only a couple meters, but he knew the layout of the land better than anyone. He could hear the faint cries of his mother slowly dissipate into the wind as he pushed forward, ignorant to her distant calling. His white breath came out in short, heavy tufts as he trekked through the layers of snow.

"'_To be abandoned by my friends and clan mates… this is truly a tragic ending!'_ is what I presume you must be thinking, no?"

A deep, condescending voice sounded from behind him, and Raventail turned to see who had spoken. However, no one was around him. The voice echoed through the fog once more.

"'_Oh, how I wish I could tell them how wrong I was! I wish I could go back and fix everything I had ever done!'_, right?"

"Don't you have better things to do than pulling petty pranks like this, Stormclaw?"

Almost as if on cue, the fog lightened to reveal a cat with the same dark gray fur from earlier perched on a branch above him.

"Lighten up, Raventail! I'm just giving you my heart-filled farewell. You wouldn't be so cold as to turn that down, would you?"

"As the deputy, I expected you to tend to your _weak_ clan instead of giving farewells to a rogue."

"I'm just that thoughtful, you know?"

Stormclaw's appearance had suddenly disappeared from the branch right before Raventail's eyes. Raventail looked around, until he suddenly felt fur firmly pressing against the center of his spine. He could feel a breath against his ear as a voice whispered right next to him.

"You know what's an interesting thought? I could kill you right here, bury you, and no one would be the wiser."

Raventail's senses were on full alert again. He unsheathed his claws and whipped around to face Stormtail, only to find more fog. "_Using the fog as cover, huh?"_, Raventail thought.

"You'll have to be a little faster than that to catch me, you know?" taunted Stormclaw.

Raventail focused. He gathered his thoughts into heating up his paws, until the physical forms of his paws began to waver. Suddenly, his front paws burst into flames. He outstretched a paw in front of him and spoke out in a clear tone.

"**「ＨＥＡＴ ＷＡＶＥ!」**"

From within his paw, a light began to shine brightly and a strong wave of heat blasted from out of his paws. The heat quickly scattered the fog within the area away, revealing the surrounding trees. Raventail took the time to carefully observe his surroundings to pinpoint his enemy, but he was still hidden.

The voice spoke next to Raventail's ear once again.

"Don't get cocky, Raventail. The others may be easy pickings for you, but it would be an insult to compare them to me."

"_How is he so fast?" _thought Raventail.

He felt a breath on the back of his neck, sending a chill down his spine.

"It's unfortunate that it's not sunrise yet… I would have loved to keep playing", meowed Stormclaw.

Raventail turned around to his right side this time, but Stormclaw had already returned to the branch he arrived on.

"Why do you support them, Stormclaw? The way the clan is so relaxed, despite having the capability to control more territory? The clan could easily become as strong as one of the four great clans of the forest, but no one has the ambition. Doesn't it irritate you? If you join me, we could create a clan that is unmatched in power," questioned Raventail.

"What? And leave my family to join your little power-hungry escapade? You must be joking," scoffed Stormclaw.

"We could form a clan that is unrivaled, stronger than anyone. Train those that want to be trained, and only accept those that have the aptitude for success. I could use your strength, Stormtail…"

Raventail and Stormtail's gazes locked, tension hovering in the air like a thick cloud. They each held their positions until Stormtail's shoulders eased and let out a sigh.

"I suggest you leave the territory completely before sunrise. Next time I won't be so lenient in battle."

In the next moment, Stormtail disappeared from the branch and reappeared behind Raventail a foxlength away.

"Those with selfish ambitions receive slow, painful ends. Don't do anything you will regret, Raventail."

With his final words, Stormtail padded off back into the fog. This time, Raventail was truly alone now.

"...Tsk. He really was toying with me…"

Raventail began padding in the opposite direction of Stormtail.

"I will show you the true power of my ambitions, Stormtail. Only then, will you see that I was right."

Raventail's black pelt glowed under the white backdrop like a beacon until the snow began to pick up once again, swallowing his figure up as he disappeared into the fog.

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**A/N:** If you have read my previous attempts at creating a story for cats with powers, you probably know that this is my third attempt. I try to improve on it each time, but I end up getting stuck in writer's block and re-writing the story once again. Hopefully this time I'll stick to this one, lol. Hope you enjoyed.


	2. Chapter 1: A Story of Old

**Chapter 1**

The dark clouds bellowed overhead, its roars of thunder echoing across the sky. Powerful wind shook the trees violently, as if to rip them out of their very roots. The rain pounded hard and the frequent streaks of lightning cracked the black sky. Lush grasslands had turned into muddy marshlands from the excess water that seeped into the ground, and ponds had turned into small lakes. It was as if Mother Nature herself was angry and nothing could ever quell her rage.

Within this chaotic destruction, there stood an odd structure among the torn landscape: a small makeshift den built in the dip of a hill. The roof of the makeshift den was built out of piled up sticks along with some leafs to prevent rain from coming in. A part of the roof melded with the dirt that belonged to the side of the hill. The structure was sound enough to withstand the furious winds thanks to the cover of the hill, but the den occasionally shifted from side to side. The water that ran down the sides of the hill were redirected around the den by small mounds of dirt that had been pushed to create a simple moat, saving the structure from water rushing in.

The sky howled once more with rage. A flash of light filled the sky, illuminating everything on the marshland. In the moments that the lightning struck, two feline silhouettes were seen dashing across the damp land. They were both roughly the same size, with one having more of a bulkier shape than the other. The two appeared to be carrying something in their jaws while racing through the harsh rain. They headed towards the direction of the makeshift den, arriving at the entrance of the den and shaking their drenched pelts before padding in.

"Goodness, are you two okay?" meowed a concerned voice from deeper within the shelter. It was the voice of a she-cat, speaking in a elderly tone. The flashes of lightning outside revealed the color of her pelt to be a light brown, with patches of gray covering her. Her ribs were thinly visible through her fur and it seemed age had taken a considerable toll on the she-cat.

The bulkier tom replied.

"No worries, Nutmeg. We are fine. Though, we really didn't expect this rain to come so suddenly… We thought it would've come by at least tomorrow or the day after."

"I'm just surprised the both of you caught something in this dreadful weather," replied Nutmeg, glancing at the things dangling from their jaws.

The two soaked cats padded further into the cave to avoid the chilly draft near the entrance. They stooped their heads low and dropped the things they carried with them in their jaws. Several mice and a rabbit were piled up in the center, the prey's moist fur making them look slightly unappealing.

"Sorry, they may have gotten a little soaked. I can wait for the storm to pass to go catch more prey if you want…" meowed the smaller cat as he dropped his catch.

Nutmeg gave a cheeky smile.

"You worry about your mother too much, Rusty. I may be old, but I can deal with a soggy mouse or two."

The smaller tom, Rusty, shifted his paws uncomfortably at the sight of the wet pile of prey, but only nodded at her words.

Flashes of lightning lit up the cave once more. Rusty's drenched pelt was the color of dark orange, like the vibrant colors of autumn maple leaves. He had a small build compared to the other tom next to him, despite being roughly the same age. His facial features were that of a young tom, round and soft, and his youthful appearance was brought out even more from his underdeveloped snout and pink nose. However, the most defining trait of his face were his emerald eyes, emanating a dark glow in the den. The rich, green color reflected the gaze of those who saw it as if gazing at the surface of an untouched pond.

"Princess, it's time to eat," called Nutmeg.

Another she-cat, significantly smaller than all the other cats and clearly the youngest, stumbled out from behind the old she-cat with a moss ball in her jaws. Princess was a small, calico white kitten with spots of brown across her pelt. She quickly dropped the moss ball and hurried over to the small pile of prey, prancing along and humming as she went. She took a mouse from the pile and dragged it next to her mom, looking at it with anticipation.

"Princess, remember to say thanks for the prey," commented the bulkier tom.

"I know, I _know_, Smudge," meowed Princess begrudgingly.

Princess began mumbling her thanks for the prey before roughly digging into her mouse.

The other three cats watched as this tiny she-cat wolfed down an entire mouse nearly half her size. The astonishment was written across both of the tom's faces, while Nutmeg breathed a sigh and rested her head back down.

"I swear, I haven't got the faintest clue as to where all that food goes. She eats so much but is still just a tiny puffball. I wish I had never fed her prey from such an early age…" meowed Nutmeg in defeat.

"Well at least it's a good sign that she is growing, right?" commented Smudge.

"I suppose," replied Nutmeg reluctantly.

Rusty merely chuckled. It never ceased to impress him how much Princess could eat while keeping her slim but fluffy appearance. Thought, he just assumed it was because her body was still maturing.

He padded over to take a mouse for his mother, then took one for himself while Smudge took a rabbit. It was a peaceful night, despite the destructive storm outside. Rusty had taken precautionary measures to protect the den in case of rain by digging a moat around the den to redirect the water. The hillside also prevented the den from standing out and getting detected from other dangerous cats, although he didn't think it was much of a problem. They lived a nomadic lifestyle and never stayed in one spot for too long anyway. Whenever they did have the rare chance of encountering another cat, they were almost always friendly. Nutmeg had warned Smudge and Rusty of dangerous cats traveling in groups, but they had been fortunate to never meet a situation that caused them to face such a threat. There was one particular group known as the "Great Forest Clans" that his mother would occasionally talk about, but whenever Rusty would ask how his mother knows about these "Forest Clans", his mother would change the subject.

After their meal, Princess released a massive yawn.

"Mom, tell me a story," meowed Princess.

"Alright. Which one do you want to hear?"

"Thunder! Thunder!" chanted Princess.

"Okay, okay," responded Nutmeg gleefully.

Rusty and Smudge watched the normal nightly routine between two, until Smudge turned to Rusty with a smile.

"I will go stand guard. We can trade positions in the middle of the night," Smudge meowed.

"Very well," replied Rusty.

Smudge padded to the entrance of the den and sat down quietly, observing the whirling winds outside. Another crackle of light ripped through sky, revealing Smudge's bulky form. His pelt was a light black, and his broad shoulders and muscles gave his body a well-defined form. His face held a stronger jawline than Rusty and his snout was more mature. His amber eyes were carefully scanning the outside while his black paws were neatly tucked under his tail in front of him.

"_So serious…" _thought Rusty.

He padded over to his mother and sister to join them, reassured that the den was well protected.

"Our tale dates back many, many years ago," Nutmeg started. "In a time when cats were more aggressive and would kill over a small piece of prey, a small band of cats traveled throughout the land in search for a safe home. There were three notable cats among them, named River, Shadow, and Wind. They were considered the leaders and were the most powerful in the group. River could control the tides, Shadow could shape the darkness, and Wind could create typhoons. One night, when storms brewed overhead and thunder struck throughout the sky, the three came across an abandoned kitten. When asked where his family was, the kit couldn't come up with a reply. They searched for his family, but could never find them. The three couldn't leave the kit to die by himself, so they decided to adopt him. Thus, in honor of the new member to the group, the kit's new name was "Thunder", named after the fierce storms in which they found him."

When Nutmeg suddenly started coughing, Rusty had momentarily left and came back with a leaf filled with rain water, to which Nutmeg lapped up the water and continued her story.

"Thunder was a young, spry cat. He would often pull pranks on the group and was scolded harshly by Shadow and River while Wind encouraged his mischievous behavior, but he loved them all. As he grew up, he lived up to his name by developing his own power: the power to control lightning. He eventually became a strong cat, able to stand alongside the powerful River, Wind, and Shadow. One day, as he was scouting the territory ahead for his group, he came across a forest with varying lands that were each unique. One area of the forest was rich with oak trees, another was surrounded by raging rivers, the third one was covered with tall pines, and the last section was a plain, windy landscape. After introducing the land to his group, they all believed that this was the land they were truly looking for."

Nutmeg took another lap at the water before continuing.

"However, the leaders of the group each had different ideas on where to settle. Thunder believed the forest was the most plentiful, River preferred living by the waters, Shadow preferred the pines, and Wind wanted the moors. Unable to decide where to live together, they decided to split the group into four, deciding to live with whoever got the most votes. Surprisingly, the four groups split evenly. The three leaders decided to go their separate ways, but Thunder, believing the group to be his family, still wanted to stay connected somehow. They decided on gathering at the center of all four territories, where four giant trees stood, to meet there occasionally."

Lightning struck outside, illuminating Smudge's outline by the entrance.

"Many moons of peace came and the cats freely hunted in the plentiful forests. Whenever another group of cats would threaten to take the land, the four leaders would defend the forest and protect their respective groups. However, after accepting other groups of cats and breeding, the small groups inevitably grew into large clans, with names that reflected their leaders. With the growth of these clans, the once abundant prey now grew scarce and borders became an issue. Fights between the clans would break out often, and the three original leaders would quarrel over who would control the territories. Border skirmishes turned into bloody battles, and wars were becoming more frequent over hunting grounds. In the end, many cats from all clans died."

Rusty released a yawn, his head now gently resting on his arms.

"Thunder was heartbroken after watching his once close family tear each other apart. So, in order to stop these conflicts, he called for an emergency gathering with the other leaders. He proclaimed to the other clans that they should work together in maintaining peace instead of fighting each other. However, none of the other leaders listened and the gathering quickly spiraled out of control. A great battle had occurred between the clans. The three leaders clashed, but Thunder had stepped in to stop them and was killed. The three leaders, seeing Thunder as their own kin and family, felt nothing but shame. It was then, that the spirits of those that had died in the previous battles came down. They demanded that they stop fighting, and that losing lives over petty fights such as border skirmishes was disrespectful to those that valued their clans. Thunder was then revived with the power of the spirits, and a set of rules were established to stop unnecessary deaths from happening ever again. Many moons of peace had come, and the clans ruled over the forest since. The End."

By the time the story was over, Princess' eyes were half shut and her head was bobbing up and down, trying to stay awake.

"Alright, that's enough of that. Let's go to sleep. It's not healthy for a young kit like yourself to stay awake so late," meowed Nutmeg.

"Okay…" responded Princess drowsily.

Nutmeg herded Princess onto a bed of moss next to her, staying close to keep the warmth in her body from escaping. Eventually, the soft, white ball of fur developed a gentle rhythm of breathing and slipped into a deep sleep. Rusty was beginning to drift off into sleep as well, but he stopped himself to ask Nutmeg a question.

"Hey, mom. How do you know so much about the clans? You always talk about them in stories, but do they actually exist?" asked Rusty.

"Of course they exist, Rusty. They're known as the 'Great Forest Clans', you know? Thunderclan, Shadowclan, Riverclan, and Windclan. In fact, they supposedly live not too far from here in the forest," responded Nutmeg.

"But how do you know? Where did you hear about them?"

"They were once stories I heard from your father."

"But they're just stories, right?"

Nutmeg shook her head.

"Your father said they were true, so I believe they are real."

Rusty let out a sigh. The statement she gave didn't really answer his question.

"How do you know his stories are true? And where did he learn those stories from?" Rusty inquired.

Nutmeg gave a wry smile. "Unfortunately, he never mentioned where. He only mentioned of their culture, how vast their territories were, and their customs. But… I believe they're true."

"Huh…" mumbled Rusty.

Rusty couldn't comprehend his mother's sense of trust in his father's words. In truth, Rusty was too young to even remember who his father was. According to his mother, when his family was once attacked a long time ago by another group of aggressive cats, his father died trying to protect them while Nutmeg and the rest of the family escaped. At the time, Rusty was just a kit being carried in her jaws, while Nutmeg was just recently pregnant with Princess.

Rusty's eyes sagged even further, and Nutmeg cracked a smile.

"Well, I can always tell more stories tomorrow. Let's go to sleep, shall we?" suggested Nutmeg.

"Alright."

Rusty padded up to his sister and mother, curling up beside them. He gently rested his head on his paws and slipped into a deep sleep, while the thunder and rain continued to roar outside.

The next morning, after Rusty had already swapped positions with Smudge in the middle of the night, he padded out of the makeshift den to the fresh morning breeze. The ground was still damp from the downpour, making the dirt stick to the bottom of Rusty's paws. He gave himself a quick grooming before heading out with Smudge for hunting.

"Be careful of other cats, you two!" Nutmeg called out before they had left.

Rusty and Smudge trekked along the soggy grassland, searching for any prey. However, due to the rain, most of the prey were still holed up in their burrows. They continued to search throughout the soggy grasslands.

At around Sunhigh, Rusty and Smudge managed to catch two small mice. Rusty let out a sigh.

"At this rate, Princess will be complaining all night. Hah… Why did it have to rain so much last night?" meowed Rusty.

"Well, let's keep searching. I'm sure we'll find something eventu-"

Smudge's sentence was cut mid short as he and Rusty noticed a fat rabbit dash out from one of the burrows.

"Now that'll feed Princess! Quick, after it!" Smudge proclaimed.

However, the rabbit proved too fast for Smudge. It zoomed in a zigzag pattern between Smudge's legs, tripping him up and causing him to fall face-first into the ground.

"Smudge, are you okay?" asked Rusty.

"Don't worry about me. Just get it!" responded Smudge quickly.

Rusty gave a quick nod and dashed after the rabbit. Smudge was indeed stronger than Rusty, with his large build and muscles giving him strength equal to that of a full-grown cat. However, Rusty had more stamina and was smaller. Therefore, he was significantly faster than Smudge when it came to long distance running. In terms of hunting, Smudge would usually go for mice and small birds if trees were around, while Rusty ran after rabbits and squirrels. Rusty's feet were also more coordinated than Smudge's, giving Rusty an additional advantage in agility.

Rusty pelted after the rabbit, his paws swiftly carrying him across the grassland as wind whipped his face. The one thing Rusty loved more than anything was the feeling of wind zooming past him. His adrenaline pushed him forward, his paws itching to go faster. Rusty honed his concentration on his breathing, making sure to keep a steady pace. He slowly closed the distance on the rabbit, inch by inch. His eyes were transfixed solely on the rabbit's hind, his claws unsheathed as he got ever so close. As Rusty closed the distance on the rabbit, he gave one final push before leaping into the air. The rabbit was fast, but Rusty was faster. Before the rabbit had time to react, Rusty's claws sank deep into the rabbit's back. Rusty quickly delivered the killing blow by biting its neck until it stopped moving.

"Haha, gotcha," meowed Rusty confidently.

However, he suddenly realized that the place he was in was not the grasslands. It was a thick forest, with many oak wood trees that stretched far beyond he could see. The trees created a natural shade, which only grew darker the further he tried to look into the forest.

"I didn't realize I went so far. I should head back quickly, so I don't cause Smudge to worry."

Rusty sheathed his claws and grabbed the rabbit by its neck. He scanned his surroundings and found a faint light between a few trees.

"Luckily, it seems I didn't travel too far off," meowed Rusty to himself in relief.

Rusty started to pad towards the light, listening to the sounds of the trees as he continued forward. To Rusty, the gentle rustling was actually rather soothing to his ears. It was as if the forest was singing him a gentle song, and if Rusty wasn't hunting right now, he might've fallen asleep from its lullaby.

However, a certain uneasiness began to creep into him. Despite the peacefulness, it felt like he was being _watched_. Rusty continued to observe his surroundings, but he couldn't detect anything. "_Probably just my imagination…"_ thought Rusty, but the closer he got to the light at the end of the forest, the more uneasy he felt.

He picked up the pace, his paws carrying him closer and closer to the light. He was pelting faster and faster, covering fox lengths of distance at a time. The light drew ever closer, leaving the ominous forest behind him. Rusty felt his uneasy slowly fade away.

It was the moment he dropped his guard, however, that led him to his fate. He suddenly felt a heavy weight slam down on top of his right shoulder. He tried to struggle free and was slightly successful until another, even heavier weight dropped onto his left shoulder, pinning him. He tried to get a better look at the attackers that had pinned him by shifting his weight to the left. He turned his head above to see, but what he saw was almost impossible to comprehend.

"_The one that's pinning my left shoulder is… me?!"_

What Rusty saw was a black figure with an undefined shape, almost like a wavering shadow. However, that shadow looked almost exactly like Rusty, though much of its definitive facial features were blurred.

"_What in the world is happening… what is this?!" _thought Rusty as he tried to wriggle free.

"Ha! My first intruder caught! They'll have to promote me to a warrior after this catch!" exclaimed the cat that pinned him on the left.

Rusty shifted his weight to the right and saw the cat that had pinned his left shoulder. This time, the cat's body was clearly defined and not some elusive shadow. He was just as big as Smudge, with fur layering around his neck to create a scruffy mane. His yellow eyes met Rusty's emerald green, and Rusty felt a strong sense of fear surge through him.

However, Rusty's eyes were filled with determination.

"_I have to return to Smudge and the others. I will not die here!"_

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**A/N:** Hope you enjoyed. If you see any grammatical or spelling errors, please let me know and I will fix it asap. Thanks and happy 2020!


	3. Chapter 2: Confrontation

**Chapter 2**

"Who are you? What do you want?!" inquired Rusty aggressively.

"Calm down, I won't hurt you as long as you don't struggle. Just stay put until my mentor gets here. Hopefully I'll get closer to becoming a warrior with this..." responded the burly gray tom.

"_Warrior? Mentor? What's he talking about…"_ thought Rusty.

"Lionheart will be so proud of me, and then he'll say, '_Wow, Graypaw, I never knew you had so much talent! You're such a valuable member of this clan, so we'll have to make you a warrior right away!'_. Then Bluestar will say, '_I totally agree. Graypaw, I am relinquishing my position as leader and you shall now be known as Graystar.'_ Gehehehe…" the gray tom, now known as Graypaw, chuckled to himself as he imagined his preposterous fantasies.

_...Clan?_

"Wait… you mean you're from one of the great forest clans?!"

"Oh, so you've heard of us? That's right! And I'm from Thunderclan, the greatest clan among them!"

_So the stories regarding the clans from Nutmeg were true? I guess my father was right… _

"Not like it matters, though. Once Lionheart shows up, my job is done. Just sit tight, okay?" meowed Graypaw.

_Ya, like I'm just going to sit here and wait for what might be my demise._

Rusty tried to look at the situation from every angle. He made his first obvious analysis about his current position that he couldn't do anything against the two attackers currently. Although the weird shadow cat on his right shoulder was lighter than him, Graypaw was simply too much to handle. Secondly, he wasn't used to fighting one-on-one with another cat. Though Rusty had encountered aggressive cats in the past with his family, his mother was able to charm the aggressive cats out of a confrontation. Most of his experience in fighting was just practice with Smudge. However, these cats obviously had such experience. They knew how to quickly and quietly subjugate their enemy. They've even been trained to use their body build as a tool in combat, like how Graypaw used his weight as an advantage. Lastly, the gray tom had just mentioned waiting for a mentor, meaning more of his allies were coming. If more of his group were to come now, it would truly become a worse case scenario.

No matter how Rusty looked at his situation, there was no way he could escape by himself before Graypaw's other group members were to arrive. Rusty needed to call Smudge over and help him without letting Graypaw know. Although he believed it to be cowardly to drag Smudge into his matters, what mattered most currently was survival. If Smudge were to free him, the battle would effectively become a two-on-two fight and give them the chance to flee.

Smudge must still be trying to head over to catch the rabbit, so Rusty needed to buy as much time as possible. Luckily, the weird shadow cat seemed to be solely fixated on him. Graypaw was still carefully observing his surroundings, so he also needed to distract the gray tom and keep his focus on Rusty. Luckily, Rusty had caught a glimpse of a potential weakness in Graypaw.

"You said you were going to be promoted to a warrior by this 'Lionheart', but what are you now?" asked Rusty.

"Oh, I'm an apprentice," responded Graypaw.

"I see… What exactly do apprentices do?"

"Hmmm… I'm not really sure if I can share that information with a rogue. Sorry."

_Well he seems like a pretty nice tom, but I still need information and time. Work with me here!_

"No, it's okay. I was just wondering because you happen to be very good at combat. You're very different from other cats that I've met in the past."

"Ha! Of course not. The ones you fought were probably just regular rogues, as opposed to us clan cats!" the gray tom responded.

"So you must be one of the clan's stronger cats, I presume?" Rusty asked in a mused tone.

"Ha ha ha! Not even close. There are waaaaay stronger cats in the other clans than me. Heck, I'm not even close to the strongest within my own clan! Again, I'm just a mere apprentice. If you were to meet a warrior head on, they would've killed you on the spot!"

"Oh, I see… So that means you're one of the weaker ones than?" taunted Rusty.

"Th-that's also wrong! I may be one of the youngest apprentices, but I'm plenty strong! Just the other day, when I sparred with Sandpaw, I managed to actually land a few hits on her. Though that was mainly because I used some extra tips from her dad and still lost the battle… but that doesn't matter! I'll definitely get her next time, without any tips or help. Sandpaw is a seasoned apprentice too, so I don't think I-"

_Perfect. I've got him right where I want him._

In the past, when Rusty would watch his mother try to converse with other groups of cats, she would charm them in a special way that got the other party to approach her easily. However, there were times when he was able to somewhat understand her techniques in her verbal speeches. Now, they turned out to be pretty useful. One thing that almost nobody could resist was talking about themselves. Everybody loved to do it. During conversations, Nutmeg often used this technique by asking various vague questions at first, then aiming for more personal questions. Not only did it get the cat to open themselves up to Nutmeg and therefore becoming more friendly, it provided her with vital information she could use for future encounters. It was especially effective against naive individuals.

"_Thanks, mom!" _thought Rusty gratefully.

As the gray tom continued talking about things Rusty couldn't really comprehend nor care about, he suddenly caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Where Rusty was captured was just at the edge of the forest, so he was close enough to see beyond the cluster of oak trees to the hills of the grasslands beyond. Just over the closest hill, Rusty saw a familiar black figure pelting towards him at high speeds.

Although the plan to stall for time succeeded, now he needed to warn Smudge about the situation without letting the two cats see Smudge. He needed to be careful as well, since he didn't know what these two were still capable of.

Rusty pondered for an option, until a plan finally came to his mind. Then, with great effort, he pushed his arms off the ground in an attempt to lift both of his attackers off of him.

"H-hey! Stay down!" growled Graypaw.

Both of his attackers pushed him back down with great force, and Rusty let out a loud yowl.

"Mrrow!" cried Rusty at the top of his lungs.

The gray tom tilted his head to the side.

"Hey… I'm not pressing that hard. You okay?" questioned the gray tom.

"...no, I'm okay," Rusty quickly meowed, drawing up an excuse. Although he felt kind of bad for intentionally sounding more in pain on purpose, thus causing Graypaw to worry more, he couldn't be bothered right now over such trivial things.

Graypaw let out a sigh.

"Why did you have to attempt that? You even interrupted my story…" mumbled Graypaw irritably.

Graypaw lifted his head back up and began carefully observing his surroundings once more. However, where his attention was no longer mattered to Rusty. During the commotion Rusty had caused, he carefully eyed Smudge as he yowled into the air. Smudge had suddenly stopped in his tracks and dashed to the right before diving into the dense forest. Just shortly after, the bush nearby behind Graypaw gave a slight rustle and Rusty met eye-to-eye with Smudge, who was crouched underneath the bush. All that was left was for Smudge to act.

With explosive power, Smudge leaped straight out of the bush and dived into Graypaw, catching him completely off guard and launching him several fox lengths away. As soon as the heavy weight disappeared from Rusty's right shoulder, he rolled onto his back and threw the shadow cat off his shoulder. Rusty dashed towards the shadow cat while in the middle of its tumble, striking several blows to its abdomen. When the shadow cat faltered again, Rusty turned around and drove his hind legs into the cat's chest, sending it flying. Rusty turned back around ready to face the shadow cat, but strangely, it disappeared into the air after it hit the ground.

"_What in the world…?" _pondered Rusty.

Still wary of his enemy in case they were simply hidden, Rusty turned his attention to the confrontation between Smudge and Graypaw. The gray tom had gotten back up on his feet, and Smudge charged forward. The two clashed paw swipe for paw swipe and engaged in a struggle for power, their weight and size nearly the same.

"To think there was another waiting to attack… I got careless," meowed Graypaw.

The gray tom, however, quickly regained his composure from the surprise attack and began pushing Smudge back. Despite Smudge's strong stature, Graypaw had both a similar build and trained experience in combat. Smudge started taking blows delivered to his shoulders, his head, and his abdomen. A swift strike to his chest caused Smudge to groan in pain.

"Kuh…!"

"You may have strength, but you lack technique!" exclaimed Graypaw.

Graypaw struck once more to Smudge's head, but this time, Smudge blocked it with his right paw. In the brief moment that the gray tom reeled from his own attack, Rusty used the perfect opportunity to dash forward and deliver a couple strikes to Graypaw's chest. The fight had officially become a two-on-one.

"Don't you think that's a little unfair?!" complained Graypaw as he clutched the part of his chest that Rusty had struck.

Smudge and Rusty dashed forward together, Smudge taking the lead. Graypaw took a stance and sent an unsheathed paw towards Smudge, to which Smudge responded with a claw strike of his own. The two paws clashed mid-air, stunning both of them for half a second. At that moment, Rusty had dashed to the side and laid into Graypaw's pelt with several blows of his own, causing the gray tom to stagger back again. The two continued to perform a tag-team attack that swapped between the defensive Smudge and the offensive Rusty. Together, they moved swiftly like water against Graypaw and weakened him significantly.

Eventually, the gray tom was riddled with scratch marks everywhere, though none of them seemed to be that deep. However, Rusty and Smudge were beginning to get exhausted. Their fatigue was starting to build.

"Rusty, I think... that's enough. He won't... chase us in his current condition, so let's go," meowed Smudge to Rusty while panting.

"Alright."

Once they stunned Graypaw again, they took the opportunity and dashed side-by-side to the edge of the forest. They looked back to see that Graypaw had tried to pursue, but he quickly tumbled due to his injuries.

"It's good that he won't come after us, but let's try to at least get clear of the forest completely. Let's head past those hills up ahead!"

"Okay!"

However, as the two pelted for the freedom beyond the forest, the ground suddenly shook.

Out of nowhere, the land in front of Rusty and Smudge trembled, until a massive wall of water that seemed to manifest out of thin air erupted in front of them. The two cats quickly stopped in their tracks, briefly glancing at the wall of water in hesitation before trying to find a way around it. Their moment of hesitation only served to hasten their demise as the wall of water suddenly collapsed into a raging river that swept Smudge and Rusty right off their feet. The currents of the mysterious river kept dragging them in the direction towards Graypaw, until the river dispersed into thin air. Smudge and Rusty were soaked and exhausted, coughing out the water that had dragged them back into the forest. They hardly had the strength to stand, let alone run away anymore.

"What… was… that?" Smudge managed to finally breathe out, still exasperated from the event that took place.

"I don't… know" replied Rusty between breaths.

Rusty really had no explanation for what had just happened. It was as if the very forest itself summoned a river from the ground to drag them back into its depths. Whether that was really what happened or not was something Rusty didn't know.

As if to answer the questions in his mind, a new, feminine voice sounded from behind them.

"The two of you have excellent teamwork. I'm impressed. You must have practiced…"

From the shadows, two cats had emerged. One was a blue she-cat with a scar running down her shoulder. She padded towards the two young toms with her head held high, inducing an aura of leadership and power. Rusty could only look at her with awe and fear, wondering what exactly this cat was planning to do with them. The other cat was significantly larger and had a large, yellow mane. He padded just behind the blue she-cat, as if to signify that the blue she-cat was taking the lead and that he was simply following her.

The blue she-cat padded closer to the toms, until she ended up directly in front of Rusty by mere mouse-lengths. She leaned in and started sniffing Rusty, carefully checking every corner of his pelt.

"Uh…"

"..."

The blue she-cat didn't say anything throughout her examination. Once she had finished checking Rusty, she moved onto Smudge and did the same. The two toms didn't have the energy to object, so they just sat up without saying anything. Finally, she withdrew herself and sat upright, regaining her regal atmosphere.

Before she could say anything, Graypaw had recovered from his tumble and ran up to the blue she-cat.

"Bl-bluestar! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here. I tried to catch these to rogues, but I unfortunately l-"

"Silence."

The blue she-cat, named Bluestar, waved her tail towards Graypaw while keeping her gaze fixed on Rusty and Smudge and uttered a single command. At once, Graypaw stiffened up straight and backed off to his position, his movement sealed. Bluestar continued to watch the two toms in silence, narrowing her eyes dangerously towards the two of them. Eventually, she spoke up.

"You two. Tell me your names."

"...Smudge."

"Rusty."

Rusty was hesitant, so Smudge answered first.

"Do you know what this forest is?" Bluestar asked.

Smudge and Rusty gave a confused look by tilting their heads.

"This forest is home to the four clans. Though I don't like boasting, I'm sure you've heard about us at least somewhat."

"Yes, we have," answered Smudge.

"Then this conversation should proceed quickly. Explain why you have come into our territory."

Rusty, swallowing the tightness in her throat from his nervousness, meekly spoke up.

"W-well, I was chasing a rabbit and finally caught it, but I only realized after that I ended up in the forest… I'm sorry."

"I see. And you came to help him as soon as he got captured?" Bluestar meowed as she turned to Smudge.

"That's right."

Bluestar once again became silent, as if she was thinking of something. After a little while, Rusty interrupted the silence with a question.

"Um… What exactly was that water back there? It seemed as if it was moving on its own."

Bluestar glanced at Rusty with a confused expression.

"You mean to say that you don't know about powers?"

"Po..wers?"

"Yes. Powers."

"..."

"I find it impressive that you dueled Graypaw despite not knowing what powers were."

"You mean like the ones in stories?" inquired Rusty.

"Stories…?" asked Bluestar.

"Yes, the stories of a cat named Thunder and the four clans."

"I'm surprised. Those are usually only stories we tell to our kits. How do you know about those stories?"

"My mother tells them as nighttime stories, but supposedly she heard them from my dad."

"...and who was your dad?"

"I don't know. I never met him."

Bluestar listened carefully and pondered the information.

"_Do these cats have some sort of connection to the clans? Maybe their father was exiled or ran away for whatever reason… Still, they have good skills despite lacking the proper training._" thought Bluestar.

Finally coming to a decision, Bluestar spoke.

"You don't seem to know much about powers right? In that case, the clan can teach you all you need to know and more. If you're interested, would you like to join the clan?" Bluestar offered.

The offer stunned Rusty and Smudge for a moment, both of them saying nothing while comprehending the offer.

"Bluestar, you can't! We don't know these cats, and they're just rogues. Kits even!" proclaimed the large, yellow cat.

"I understand your concern, Lionheart. However, I believe these youngsters may have potential."

Bluestar turned her head from Lionheart to Rusty.

"If you wish to know our ways, you must also understand your place within the clan. You will need to be disciplined and provide for the clan. You will put your clan members first, and will have to prove your loyalty time and time again since you are rogues. Even with a lot of effort, you may still end up finding some hostile to you. Do you still wish to accept?"

Rusty remained silent. The offer was definitely enticing, learning about power. Would he be able to create his own power? Did he even have the aptitude for something like that? However, he couldn't decide on his own. One thing was certain: he wasn't going to just leave his mother and Princess all alone.

"I'm sorry, but I refuse. I have my mother and sister I need to take care of," stated Rusty.

"I am the same," Smudge responded.

"I understand. Therefore, depending on your contributions to the clan, I may come to the decision at a later time of allowing the rest of your family to enter the clan. Please come to inform me of your decision again once in a few days at this spot."

"Bluestar! You can't pos-" Lionheart proclaimed.

"Is something wrong?" interrupted Bluestar, eyeing Lionheart dangerously.

"B-but… nothing, Bluestar."

Bluestar returned her gaze to Rusty and Smudge.

"Thank you," meowed Rusty and Smudge together.

The two toms bowed their heads and began padding off away from the forest, but not before Bluestar called out to them again.

"You forgot this."

She padded over to them with the rabbit in her jaws, carefully placing it in front of them.

"I won't show this kind of hospitality again. Do remember this if you choose to reject our offer in the end," Bluestar warned.

"Thank you again," Smudge replied, once again bowing his head.

"Ah, also, we've recently had reports of dangerous rogues that have bone teeth as piercings in their ears. We don't know much about them, but they were aggressive with our patrols not too long ago. Do take care of yourselves."

Rusty was surprised at the warning and the level of hospitality Bluestar was showing to them, but he gratefully accepted anyway.

_Still though, cats with bone teeth as piercings? That doesn't sound healthy. I'll tell mom when we get back._

With the conversation ending, both parties headed their separate ways, with Rusty and Smudge hunting in the grasslands for some more prey before returning to their home once more. Once they entered the makeshift den and told the news to Nutmeg, she became frantic.

"Oh dear, are you two alright? Do you both have any wounds? You're not hurt right?!" exclaimed Nutmeg.

"Mother, we are fine," meowed Smudge calmly.

"Don't 'we're fine' me! Now I'm worried sick! Don't ever go back into that forest again, you hear?!"

"Yes, mom. About the offer though…"

"No, we shouldn't accept it. I'm grateful for their hospitality, but I won't let my family be consumed by those clans. They may seem friendly up front, but that may just be one clan. We don't understand the relations between those clans. For all we know, they could be in constant war and recruiting you two to fight for them."

"Okay…" meowed Rusty, somewhat dejectly.

Rusty believed Nutmeg had a fair point. There wasn't much information regarding whom these cats really are, aside from the exaggerated nighttime stories of the clans that puts kits like Princess to sleep. Why did they try to recruit Rusty and Smudge? It was an unsafe bargain. However, Rusty still did feel slightly sad and not being able to learn his power, if he were to have one. What would it be? How does one go about creating such a thing?

"Nutmeg, do you have a power?" asked Rusty.

"..."

Nutmeg remained silent. At first, she was hesitant at saying anything, but she eventually sighed and began speaking.

"My power… I guess I never actually told you, did I? My power is something called 「ＮＥＧＯＴＩＡＴＩＯＮ」. When activated, it allows me to appeal to someone I happen to argue with easier by tricking the mind of the observer into believing I'm right."

"Wow… that sounds powerful."

Nutmeg chuckled. "Not really, since it has a short activation period and it requires a set of certain circumstances to be activated."

"Still, that's pretty amazing," meowed Rusty in awe.

"Well, thank you."

"...Have you ever used that power on us?" asked Rusty timidly.

"Oh heavens, no! Of course, not. I would never use my power for something like that. Besides…"

Nutmeg playfully flicked Rusty's ear with her tail.

"I don't need my power to discipline my kits. I'm your mother, after all."

Nutmeg stuck her tongue out with a wink, while Rusty merely rolled his eyes.

"Ah, before I forget. The clan cats gave us a warning. There seems to be aggressive cats that have been roaming around recently. We should watch out," Smudge meowed from behind.

"Hmm… that's not good. Okay, I'll keep that in mind," Nutmeg concluded.

As the sun had begun to set and night came, Rusty and his family were preparing for bed. The idea of having a power never left the mind of Rusty, as he continued to think about all the possibilities of what powers could do. It fascinated him, wondering if other rogues had powers as well.

"_I wonder if I could ever get a power…"_ thought Rusty.

As the moss was lined up, Nutmeg and Princess peacefully went to sleep, while Smudge once again started his first shift of the night as the guard. Rusty curled next to Princess and Nutmeg quietly, before slowly drifting off to sleep. Just before he fell asleep, he couldn't shake the slightest feeling of anxiety from the warning he received from Bluestar.

"_Guess I'll just have to check around the area tomorrow…"_

* * *

Bluestar looked up at the night sky, breathing in the crispy, cold air of the wind. Her blue fur ruffled, revealing the scar on her shoulder every now and then. She drew her gaze from the stars above to the two guards down by the entrance of the camp, both of them sitting silently and attentively. Silence continued. Eventually, Bluestar was about to head into the den behind her, but she was interrupted by another cat padding up to her. It was only a silhouette in the night, but the voice of the cat gave the identity of the cat away.

"Are you anxious again, Bluestar?" meowed a gentle, female voice.

"Spottedleaf," Bluestar meowed, bowing her head to the newcomer.

"You should get some sleep. A healthy clan can only be led by a healthy leader."

"I will keep that warning in mind, Spottedleaf."

The two turned their gazes back up to the stars above, silence controlling the clearing once more. Not a single creature stirred in the forest before them, with the only sound being the gentle wind rustling the leaves of the oak trees.

"It's about the prophecy from a few nights ago, isn't it?" Spottedleaf meowed, breaking the silence.

"Would it be strange if I wasn't anxious about it?" Bluestar retorted.

Spottedleaf smiled.

"'_A great fire will sweep through the forest, taking allies and enemies alike and changing the clans forever.' _It is quite the foreboding prophecy. It would certainly be stranger if you weren't concerned over it."

"Just what is this fire? '_Taking allies and enemies alike'_? Is it a natural disaster that will burn the forest down? Can such a fire really even exist?"

"Perhaps. It could also have different connotations, as Starclan isn't always clear with the prophecies they give."

"Whatever it is, we need to prepare for it. Properly. I won't let something like that destroy our clan, especially in a time of high tension. Riverclan has always been aggressive over Sunningrocks, but now they've gone completely silent about it and only patrol the border. On the other hand, our warriors detected Shadowclan on our territory in increasing numbers. Are they planning something together? ...Maybe I'm just overthinking it," Bluestar concluded.

"That's why a leader should properly get some rest. As your medicine cat, I am ordering you," meowed Spottedleaf sternly.

"Yes, yes. A leader would be foolish to ignore their medicine cat. I shall get some rest promptly."

Bluestar bowed once more to Spottedleaf and left towards her den once more. Spottedleaf remained in the clearing and returned her gaze to the stars for the last time. In a soft, undetectable voice, she muttered to herself.

"The future holds great change, but will it be for the better or worse? Starclan, please give me more answers…"

* * *

**A/N:** **I finally got around to updating the next chapter, and it only took 3 months! On a serious note, with writer's block, college, and the Coronavirus Quarantine going around, I was hoping to update this sooner but had to take care of a ton of stuff, so forgive me. Also, this chapter was quite a bit longer than the previous chapter, but if you prefer either shorter chapters or longer chapters, please let me know. I will try to update weekly from now on if possible, and if not, at least not with another 3 month delay. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 3: Tragedy

**Chapter 3**

The next morning, Rusty woke up early, carefully stretching his hind legs so he wouldn't pull a muscle. The later part of the night shift was significantly more comfortable than the night before, but the air was still damp enough to make the air humid. After a moment of stretching, the den stirred once more and a drowsy Princess came tumbling about.

"Good morning, Princess," greeted Rusty.

"Hey, big bro…" Princess groaned, rubbing the gound from her eyes.

Nutmeg, who was already awake and finished grooming herself, padded over to Princess and started doing the same.

"Mom, I can clean myself!" complained Princess.

"Then learn to clean yourself as soon as you get out of bed. Don't go fumbling about without a proper grooming!" proclaimed Nutmeg.

Rusty couldn't help but smile at the scene. It was like this almost every morning, but he couldn't get tired of it. His mother groomed Princess thoroughly, making sure that her pelt was free from the dirt and moss from last night. Although his mother was well into her senior years, she had enough energy to deal with Princess and her complaints. Though, his mother didn't always sit silently and listen to her complaints without retorting occasionally as well.

"Well, Smudge and I are going to head out for the daily hunt. Is there anything you need otherwise?" asked Rusty.

"Ah, yes. Please see if you can perhaps find locals that can help find us a new spot to move to. Although this place is nice, it's too close to the forest clans. They warned us about some dangerous rogues around here, so I want to leave as soon as we can," explained Nutmeg.

"What about the offer? Shouldn't we at least tell them that we reject their offer?"

Nutmeg pondered.

"Alright, we'll wait a couple more days until we go and give our rejection. Before then, find us a new home we can move to, please."

"Got it."

With the conversation over, Rusty and Smudge bounded off back into the grasslands. Now that the harsh rain was over, much of the prey was bound to come out, but they needed to complete their objective first.

"Alright, we should probably split up to cover more ground. See if we can find locals to talk to," meowed Smudge.

"Okay," replied Rusty.

Before Rusty could go off in the other direction, Smudge placed his paw on Rusty's shoulder.

"Rusty, be careful, okay?" warned Smudge with a serious expression.

"Don't worry, I won't go into the forest again," meowed Rusty jokingly.

With that, the two separated. Rusty ran at an even pace, keeping his stamina in check as he crossed the grasslands. Rusty followed the tree line of the forest, going west as he kept his distance from the border of what was supposedly Thunderclan. The breeze was gentle and sifted through Rusty's fur as he kept his breathing even.

Eventually, Rusty reached a large river that flowed with a strong current. The shores of the river were gentle enough to wade through, but Rusty noticed the center of the river gushing with water, crashing against the rocks. Rusty followed the river downstream, heading further away from the forest line. There were not as many trees now, but there were still the occasional bushes and oak trees scattered next to the river. He could also occasionally see fish leap out of the river and try to swim upstream, but many lost to the current.

"_I wonder what fish tastes like,"_ thought Rusty.

All Rusty ever had was mice and other woodland creatures from forests and grasslands, but he wondered just how fish tasted. Would it taste similar to other creatures he ate? Perhaps the fish tasted even better. Though, his impression of fish after seeing the glistening scales on its side made Rusty think that the fish was probably slimy instead.

_Maybe I'll try to catch some on the way back…_

After a while of padding by the river, he began hearing voices from beyond the trees in front of him. Rusty dropped into a crouch and stealthily approached a nearby bush until he was close enough.

"...And? What else?" spoke a calm voice. It was a black and white tom. He had an underbite that was somewhat intimidating, along with his blue eyes that bore into the tom in front of him. His tail was carefully tucked beneath him.

"Yes, sir. We've begun to track the movements of the cats from the moor. They have already left their camp, but their leader is still with them. He has managed to take down one of our squad of four by himself," responded a younger, but lean cat. He had a dark, brown pelt and amber eyes that reflected the image of the black and white cat clearly.

"Do we know anything else about the leader? About his power, maybe?"

"No. They died before they could report it. Our scouts only managed to recover the bodies."

"If they're on the run, then it's only a matter of time. Keep tracking their movements. The time to strike is near."

Although Rusty couldn't understand what the two cats were talking about, he felt like he heard a conversation he probably shouldn't have heard. Rusty tried to back out of the bush, but unfortunately, he stepped on a protruding branch behind him and made an audible "snap".

"Who's there?!" spoke the younger tom, unsheathing his claws.

Rusty dashed out of the bush and pounded his paws to the ground as fast as he could, but he tripped on something he couldn't see, collapsing on the ground. Rusty turned around, finding out that his foot had become wrapped in vines. However, the vines were moving in an unnatural manner, as if moving with a mind of their own. Rusty unsheathed his claws and attacked the vines, but new ones quickly grew and covered his leg once more.

"_Why do I keep running into trouble?!" _proclaimed Rusty in his head.

First was his encounter with the clans, and now this? His luck was quite terrible.

The two cats padded from behind the bush, slowly approaching the trapped Rusty. This time, Rusty couldn't call for Smudge, nor did it seem like these two were as clumsy as Graypaw had been when Rusty fought him. In fact, they held a dangerous aura that was almost on par with Bluestar and Lionheart.

Rusty held his breath. He racked his brain to think of a solution to get out of the situation, but he couldn't think of any. He then noticed that the younger tom had his claws fully unsheathed and ready to kill him, but the other tom held a monotone expression with his claws sheathed. It was almost creepy in the way he watched Rusty like a hawk that had found its prey.

"Hello, young kit," meowed the black and white tom. "Who might you be?"

Rusty held his tongue. The intimidating air that now surrounded the tom was completely different from when he was watching the tom earlier.

"Answer us!" shouted the younger tom.

"I-i am just a cat that lives here…" choked Rusty.

"A rogue?! Don't try to fool us, spy. We should just kill this kit and leave!" exclaimed the younger tom.

The black and white tom unsheathed his claws and struck the younger tom across the ear. Rusty was baffled at the scene, since he believed the two were working together in some way.

"Who is the superior here?" meowed the older tom in a much more sinister tone.

"Y-you are. Forgive me, sir."

The younger tom backed off, and the black and white tom turned back to Rusty.

"Forgive me for my subordinate's insolence. Now, you said you were a local, right? Why were you listening to us?" questioned the tom.

"...Well, I was trying to find other locals so I could get information."

"Oh? What kind of information?"

"I'm trying to… find a suitable home."

The older tom watched Rusty with a curious look. His tail was kept curled behind him.

"And why would you do that?"

"Well, I heard from another cat that there were dangerous rogues living around here, and my family is concerned. I needed to find a better place for them."

"Ah… I see."

The younger tom seemed to fidget at the mention of "dangerous rogue", but he simply kept quiet.

"Who did you hear this information from?"

"..."

This time, Rusty remained silent. Even now, he believed that he had probably said too much already, but he had no choice. If he made one wrong move, he felt like the two would most likely kill him there.

However, opposite to Rusty's expectations, the black and white tom broke into a gentle smile and the pressuring air around him dimmed greatly. It was almost like he was another cat.

"Sorry, I must have scared you. I haven't even mentioned my name, have I? My manners have degraded…" meowed the black and white tom. The vines slowly unravelled from Rusty's legs, freeing him. Rusty was truly confused now.

"My name is Snake, and this is my traveling companion, Rattle. We are a part of a much larger group, but we are the only ones around here so rest assured. May I ask for your name?" asked Snake.

"...It's Rusty."

"An interesting name. Rattle, go catch some fish from the river for young Rusty."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, wait. You don't have to-"

"I'm just asking him because I feel like it. Is there something wrong with it?" inquired Snake.

"...no," replied Rusty.

The younger tom, Rattle, bounded from his spot behind Snake and bounded to the edge of the river. Rusty watched with great interest as Rattle stepped into the shallow section of the river and crouched down. He slowly crept up the center of the river, careful not to get dragged in. Nothing but the sound of the flowing river filled the air. Rattle stayed silent as the water washed over him, sticking his brown pelt to his sides and making him look skinnier. Eventually, Rattle struck his paw straight into the river and pulled out a fish. He grabbed it with his teeth and dragged it back to shore, plopping it down in front of Rusty. He repeated the process in silence a couple more times and got enough fish for everyone.

"I hope you don't mind us eating with you for now," meowed Snake.

"O-oh no, it's fine. Thank you," replied Rusty. Rusty was still weary of these two, and he couldn't understand the reason why they were so friendly with him now. Well, at least Snake was anyway.

Despite Snake's observant gaze on Rusty, Rusty's eyes were fixed on the shiny fish in front of him. His mouth began to water subconsciously when he started thinking about what the fish would taste like.

"Have you ever had fish before?" asked Snake.

"No, I haven't."

"Well, it will seem a little slimy and gross at first, but you get used to it. The inside is where the juicy part is, and it's really good. Go on, have a bite," urged Snake.

Rusty cast a glance at Snake for confirmation before staring at the fish once again. Hesitant, Rusty's face slowly approached his face to the fish. The smell of the river wafted into Rusty's nose and nearly made him pull back, but he kept going. His face finally reached the fish, and in one swift bite, took a chunk out of the fish. Rusty started chewing and felt the gross, slimy part that Snake had mentioned. It would be rude to spit it out now at this point after Rattle had spent much time getting it, so he continued chewing. Suddenly, Rusty was surprised at the sudden change in taste. The gross feeling receded, and the taste was replaced with a sweeter, more fresh taste. It was truly delightful.

"Haha! See, I told you it was good, didn't I?" meowed Snake.

"Yes!" replied Rusty, stuffing his face more with the raw fish.

Snake watched with a smile, until he lied down and began eating as well. Rattle followed Snake and did the same.

In between the meal, Snake began asking questions.

"So, Rusty, you said you lived around here, but where is that exactly?"

Rusty was wary at first, but he thought it only courteous to share some information about him now that Snake had shared his. Besides, a fair amount of time had already passed between them, along with a meal that Rusty thought to be very enjoyable.

"I live among the grasslands not too far from here. I have a den that my family lives in now, but we plan on moving soon."

"I see. So what do these dangerous cats actually look like? Did the cats that told you about them tell you anything?"

"Hm… I think they said something about the rogues wearing bone teeth and other things through their ears. That's about all I know."

As Rusty mentioned the piercings, his eyes flickered to Snake and Rattle's ears, but they had no piercings.

"Very well. I will keep a lookout," meowed Snake, his tail twitching from underneath him.

As the sun went past noon, the three finished their meals and Rusty was completely stuffed. He stood up to stretch once more.

"Thank you for the meal. Sorry for taking your time," meowed Rusty.

"Oh no, no, it's fine. We just happen to do some scouting around here anyways, nothing to worry about," Snake replied.

"Oh, I almost forgot to do the thing I came here for. Do you guys know of any places that my family could migrate to? Or, at least where you think an area might be safer?" asked Rusty.

Snake fell into thought. He pondered for a moment, until he replied once again.

"I believe if you manage to cross this river and keep going west, you'll be able to find similar grasslands like this one. Even beyond that is a massive forest, but I don't know how safe it is. Sorry," finished Snake.

"That's fine. Thank you for the information and the food!"

"Take care, young'in."

With the two cats waving their goodbyes, Rusty bounded off back to the grasslands once more. This time, he decided to thoroughly hunt, and he had more than enough energy now after the invigorating fish he had eaten. He wanted to eat another one some time, but that would have to wait. After several hours of hunting, Rusty had caught a fair amount of prey and decided to head back. He padded into the den again with two mice, a fat squirrel that was too slow to escape him, and a sparrow on the ground. He was quite proud of his catch.

Nutmeg was quietly dozing off while Princess was playing moss ball, but the scent of prey drew both of their attention to Rusty.

"My, Rusty, you've managed to catch a lot today."

"Big bro brought dinner!"

"I got lucky."

Rusty padded to the center of the room and placed his catch in the center.

"Has Smudge returned yet?"

"I don't think so. He'll probably return soon."

Nutmeg slowly stood up, her fatigue from her old age clearly visible. Nutmeg started padding over, but she suddenly tumbled to her side. Rusty quickly came to her side to support her, bringing her back up and guiding her to the pile.

"Ah, these stupid, old bones. They creak every time I try to move at all and it's more annoying than anything."

"Perhaps exercises and stretches will do you good?" suggested Rusty.

"Maybe… did you get any information on where we should move next?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure whether it is safe yet. We should wait until Smudge comes back."

"We should indeed."

The three began digging into the fresh kill pile, Princess once again showing off her mighty appetite by practically swallowing two mice whole. Nutmeg carefully chewed into the squirrel, while Rusty reminisced about the taste of fish.

"_I wonder what other prey might taste like…" _thought Rusty.

Not before long, Smudge had entered the den with his own prey: two birds and a mouse.

"Where did you find the birds?" asked Rusty.

"I traveled along the forest, until the forest eventually became really thick. I managed to catch some birds while I was in there."

"Did you find some information?"

"Not really…" meowed Smudge. It seemed like his luck was not as good as Rusty's.

"That's okay. I heard from some cats that there was a quiet place beyond the river that stretches past the grasslands here. We should go check it out sometime."

"That sounds good, but I still want to try my luck going the opposite way."

"Then I'll check out the new area tomorrow," Rusty finished.

With the conversation ending, the four quietly ate their catch. Rusty occasionally cast glances at the young maiden next to him and suddenly thought of something.

"Hey, mom. If Princess had a power, what do you think it would be?" asked Rusty.

"In all honesty, I think her power to eat anything and not gain weight is a power in itself," replied Nutmeg in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I'm not _that _gluttonous!" exclaimed Princess, her face scrunched up in an upset manner without the slightest hint of intimidation.

"A kit as small as you eating two whole mice is pretty impressive, Princess," meowed Rusty.

"Uh… Well… Um…" stammered Princess.

Nutmeg and Rusty laughed while Smudge watched the scene with a smile. Princess grumbled angrily, but it only came off as cute to the rest of the family.

"I'll make you take me seriously! Hiya!" meowed Princess threateningly.

She leaped, or rather flung herself at Rusty while he was distracted.

"Ah! You little-!" exclaimed Rusty, trying to pry the spider-like Princess off of him.

The night carried on in a light-hearted fashion, until the moon rose high into the sky. Everyone finished their meal, the moss was gathered, and Rusty quietly went to bed.

The following morning, Rusty woke up brimming with energy and set off quickly to the new area. He was eager to see the sight Snake had told him about, so he immediately dashed off across the grasslands. By the time he reached the river, the sun had gone about a quarter way up already.

"_It's alright late into the morning? Time flies."_

Rusty traced the river once more, trying to find a way across. He found the area where he met Snake yesterday, but today he was nowhere to be seen. Only a faint trace of his scent was left. He continued past the area and came across a set of stones that protruded from the surface of the river, creating a convenient path across. Carefully finding his footing, Rusty leaped from stone to stone, wary of the rushing water below. Rusty reached the other side of the river safely, leaping from the last stone to the hard pebbles lining the river. With deep breaths, Rusty dashed off once again from the river to the location of the potentially new home.

Rusty continued to run, occasionally stopping to take breaks. As the sun had begun to reach its peak, he would hunt a mouse every so often to not get hungry. Eventually, the scenery slowly changed. The grasslands that Snake described quickly came into view, stretching in a wide direction.

"Wow…" Rusty meowed.

The grasslands were sprinkled with flowers that had begun to sprout. The wind carried over the rolling hills and the lush grass stretched far and wide. What truly intrigued Rusty, however, was the forest close by. It's trees were tall, but from what Rusty could see, they grew in height the further you went in. Rusty's curiosity led him into the forest, its lush, dark green undergrowth overtaking the forest floor. Rusty struggled to pad through the thick grass, leaping every so often to make extra ground. His stamina was running low at this point, so he was hoping to find somewhere safe to take an afternoon nap.

As Rusty continued his way into the forest, the trees climbed higher and higher into the sky, reaching a point in which Rusty couldn't even see the top of the trees anymore. The light that was filtered at the beginning gradually thinned out, dimming the surrounding area. The occasional sounds of woodland critters could be heard, while the crunching of his feet on the crushed grass echoed between the giant trees. The air had gotten considerably cooler as well, as the sun couldn't pierce this deep into the forest.

Eventually, Rusty came across an open clearing with a single ray of sunshine beaming down on a branch protruding from one of the giant trees. Rusty wanted to observe the clearing a bit more, but he felt the urge to take a nap after a hard trek through the forest. While padding to the branch, he noticed some of the soil beneath the layer of leaves on the ground were a mix of regular, brown soil and black soil. Rusty was intrigued by the difference in color, but he passed it without much thought.

He arrived at the sun spot on the branch, gleaming in all its glory. It enticed him, inviting him to relax in the warm spot and sun bathe. Rusty's eyes were already beginning to droop, ready to take a brief nap.

"_Well, as long as I get back in the afternoon, it should be fine. It's only for a couple hours," _thought Rusty.

Rusty padded up to the sun spot and gently curled up, wrapping his tail around him. He checked the area for any strange sounds just in case one more time, before closing his eyes and letting the warmth of the sun lull him into a deep sleep.

…

…

…

Rusty opened his eyes. The surroundings were dark, so dark that Rusty believed that he had overslept for far too long and it ended up becoming night time. However, when he tried to turn around and leave, there was nothing but black again.

"_Where am I? This is the forest, right?"_ thought Rusty.

However, he soon realized that the texture underneath him wasn't even wood anymore.

"_Maybe it's some kind of dream…"_

Rusty observed his surroundings again, but still saw nothing. He decided to take a step forward, as careful as he could in case he was indeed still on the branch. The first step was solid. He padded one more step again. Another solid step. He padded further into the darkness and found that all his steps were solid.

"_So this is a dream. I don't think I have ever experienced anything this vivid though."_

Rusty started sprinting, the landscape remaining the same.

"_Is there anything? Anything at all here? Maybe if it's a dream, I can imagine something to appear…"_

Rusty thought hard. If this was his dream, he could imagine anything he wanted, right? Maybe he could play with his imagination in this space.

Then, it suddenly hit him.

"_Ah! I bet I could imagine having a power here! I can let my imagination run wild!"_

Rusty pondered for a moment what his power could be, then he imagined the tidal wave that Bluestar had created the other day.

"_It would be super cool to do that myself. Let's try it!"_

In this imaginary space, Rusty thought hard and stuck his left paw out. He concentrated hard at imagining producing water. However, nothing happened.

"_Maybe I need some kind of chant."_

"Come on, water!" shouted Rusty.

Nothing happened.

"Come forth, liquid!" shouted Rusty again.

Nothing happened.

"_Do I seriously have zero control over what happens in my dream? That's a bit lame. Maybe I should think about a regular power instead."_

Rusty tried to imagine something else, this time with nothing specific in mind. He simply believed in producing a random power and concentrated.

Suddenly, out of the corner of Rusty's vision, an orange hue of color flickered behind him. Rusty turned around to see a single, small flame flickering in the dark. It sat there, wavering in the space of no wind or air, but simply burned. Rusty stared at the flickering flame with awe.

"_Did I do that? What did I do? How did I do that? What is it?"_

Rusty had many questions, but the flame kept flickering. It seemed like it would go out occasionally, but it turned out to be quite stable. Rusty padded closer to it, the warmth of the flame gradually heating him up. He got close and sat on his hind legs, observing the single flame in this dark space.

"_I'm not sure what this is or if this represents anything, but it is certainly pretty."_

Suddenly, a flash of red covered the black sky, turning the whole surrounding in a deep red. The sudden change in color startled Rusty, filling him with unease. However, just before he could find out what was happening, Rusty found himself back on the branch of the clearing. Rusty was no longer in the light of the branch, as the sky had turned a mix between orange and red.

"It's already sunset?! I gotta get going!" exclaimed Rusty.

Rusty quickly dashed out of the clearing, trekking his way back across the forest and over the grassland. After crossing the river, Rusty realized he should bring back some prey before returning, so he quickly went to hunt a few small mice and a distracted bird. During his hunt, a certain uneasy feeling kept coming back in his head over and over, mulling over the strange dream he had in the forest.

"_Ah, it was just a dumb dream anyway."_

As Rusty finished his hunt and headed back to the den, a familiar scent drifted into his nose. It was a familiar smell, but Rusty couldn't quite figure it out. As he was pondering the smell, a loud screech echoed into the sky. Rusty noticed it came from the direction of the den, and proceeded to drop the prey and dash towards the den. He approached the final hill to his makeshift den and made it over, only to find the outside of the den ravaged.

"_Did some kind of animal get in?! A badger or something?!"_

Rusty quickly dashed to the entrance of the den, standing there in shock.

The thick smell of blood wafted into Rusty's nose, as he saw the bodies of Smudge and Nutmeg lined up in the corner of the den.

"Smudge! Nutmeg!" yowled Rusty.

Rusty quickly bounded up to them, checking if they were alright.

"Hey, what happened? Did someone come to attack? Are you guys alright?"

Rusty noticed a small twitch in Nutmeg's movement as she looked into Rusty's eyes and began to mouth words.

"Ru… sty… b… ehind… yo… u…"

Before Rusty could comprehend what Nutmeg had told him, something hard had hit him directly in the back of the head. The sudden, blunt force threw Rusty to the ground and sent him into a daze.

A new voice had echoed in the den.

"Rusty! I was worried that you weren't coming today, but thankfully, you're here now. I'm glad, since it saves us the trouble of chasing you down."

Rusty lifted his dizzy head off the ground and caught sight of the cat that spoke. Then, it suddenly hit him why the scent was so familiar earlier.

"...Snake?"

The new cat standing before him, the black and white tom he had met yesterday.

"Yes, Rusty?" Snake replied.

There were two cats in the den now, with Rattle being the closest to Rusty. Snake stood by the entrance as if to block off his only methods of escape. A swirl of emotions sprouted in Rusty as he recalled the strong but gentle cat from yesterday now standing before his injured family, but anger was slowly overtaking all of them as a certain realization set in.

"...Did… you do this, Snake?"

"Yup."

Rusty's anger boiled over now.

"Why?! Why did you attack us?! Weren't you the one who gave me the directions to the grasslands? I thought we were friends!" exclaimed Rusty.

"Friends? Of course we're not friends. We just met, you know?" responded Snake.

Nutmeg gave a light cough as blood dribbled from her mouth. Rusty became torn between helping Nutmeg, or continuing his questioning of the two toms. However, as if to make Rusty's decision for him, Snake spoke up once more.

"Rusty, the group that I belong to requires our scout mission here near the clans to remain undetected. However, you heard our conversation, right? So, in order to keep your mouth shut, we decided to kill you and your family. Simple, right?" Snake meowed gleefully.

"Simple?! We had nothing to do with the clans! You could have just asked me to say nothing and I wouldn't have said anything! Isn't that enough?" Rusty cried, tears began spilling out of his eyes.

"Now, we know that's a lie, considering you already knew about the rogues with piercings. The fact that you know of us shows you've had some kind of connection to the clans, right? Besides, the very knowledge of our existence that you now have is already a threat to us, so frankly, we would have killed you anyway. You told us everything on where you live pretty quickly, so we assumed that you would've told your family about us sooner or later. Of course, then that could lead to your family spreading it to other locals until our cover is blown. See the danger now?" explained Snake in a matter-of-fact tone.

Rusty couldn't comprehend the words he just heard.

"_So he's saying he came to kill my family because of some accident?! You've got to be kidding me! No, wait..." _thought Rusty.

"You're the dangerous rogues?!"

"From a certain point of view, I suppose you could make that assumption."

"No… but you two don't have piercings in the ears!"

"Not all of us have those, you know? It would be pretty dumb if all of us had that when we're trying to keep our identity a secret, especially on spy missions. See?"

Snake drew out his tail from behind him, to which Rusty widened his eyes in shock. A curled claw, most likely from a cat, was stabbed right into one end of Snake's tail and out the other.

"This way, we can still stay loyal and keep our cover. Of course, Rattle is the same. Anyway, that's enough chit chat. I want you to die as peacefully as possible, Rusty. You're a good kit."

Rusty looked in astonishment, but the anger quickly replaced it once more. He unsheathed his claws and bunched up his shoulder muscles in preparation to leap.

"Ru...sty… Please… do...n't…" mumbled Nutmeg.

However, Rusty didn't have a choice. He had to fight the two toms here and now, or his whole family would die. Rusty couldn't let that happen.

"AAAHHHHHHH!" yelled Rusty in a pained war cry as he leaped towards Snake.

"Ah, too noisy…"

Snake, however, brushed off Rusty's war cry with a yawn. The sound of the ground cracking could be heard, and Rusty suddenly felt a sharp pain from his right shoulder to his left paw. He stopped in his tracks, but the force of his initial leap caused him to tumble. Rusty looked down at his own body and realized a new, deep gash had opened across his own muzzle now, his blood soaking into his fur and pooling at his feet.

"Wha… but… how?"

"Powers, remember?" meowed Snake nonchalantly.

Snake had produced a long, whip-like tendril of vines from the ground, with numerous thorns and spikes running along the edge of the tentril. He had struck Rusty while he leaped into the air, giving Rusty no hope to dodge.

"Well, you'll just bleed out now at this rate, so I'll tell you. My power is called

**「ＷＨＩＰＬＡＳＨ」**. It allows me to control plant vines at will, and attach whatever defense mechanism plants may have, whether that may be poison, thorns, etc. Well, it doesn't really matter explaining this to you since you'll be dead anyway."

Rusty's vision began to waver.

"Wait… st...op… I…" muttered Rusty, but his words fell on deaf ears.

Snake and Rattle padded over to the rest of his family, but checked the bodies of Nutmeg and Smudge.

"What should we do with this one? She still seems to be breathing?" asked Rattle.

"Hmm… She's old anyway… oh well. Better safe than sorry," responded Snake.

Snake lifted his unsheathed claw above his head, about to strike down Nutmeg. Rusty's eyes momentarily locked with Nutmeg's as she mouthed her final words.

"_I'm sorry."_

The claw was brought down, and a new pool of blood formed. Silence fell in the den, while Rusty was forced to watch in his strained position. His vision grew even hazier from the loss of blood, while a stream of tears came forth from Rusty's eyes.

"_I'm sorry, mom… I'm so sorry I brought this on us… This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so careless, lazy, or stupid, I could've protected those I loved… I'm… Sorry."_

Time slowed as Rusty watched the two cats stained with blood leave the cave. The smell of Snake and Rattle, along with the rich scent of blood. Rusty would never forget that smell.

"_Those two… I will remember that scent forever…"_

Rusty's consciousness slowly drifted off into darkness as he sat in his own blood, silence ruling the cave once more.

* * *

**Post A/N:** **Please let me know if there are any grammatical errors I should fix. Thanks for reading!**


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